AHM-530 Practice Exam Questions with Answers Network Management Certification

The Pine Health Plan has incorporated pharmacy benefits management into its operations to form a unified benefit. Potential advantages that Pine can receive from this action include:

The Blanchette Health Plan uses a method of claims submission that allows its providers to submit claims directly to Blanchette through a computer application-to-application exchange of claims using a standard data format. This information indicates that Blanchette allows its providers to submit claims using technology known as

Dr. Sarah Carmichael is one of several network providers who serve on one of the Apex Health Plan’s organizational committees. The committee reviews cases against providers identified through complaints and grievances or through clinical monitoring activities. If needed, the committee formulates, approves, and monitors corrective action plans for providers. Although Apex administrators and other employees also serve on the committee, only participating providers have voting rights. The committee that Dr. Carmichael serves on is a

The following statements are about the organization of network management functions of health plans. Select the answer choice containing the correct response:

State Medicaid agencies can contract with health plans through open contracting or selective contracting. One advantage of selective contracting is that it

The actual number of providers included in a provider network can be based on staffing ratios. One true statement about staffing ratios is that, typically:

The following statements describe two types of HMOs:

The Elm HMO requires its members to select a PCP but allows the members to go to any other provider on its panel without a referral from the PCP.

The Treble HMO does not require its members to select a PCP. Treble allows its members to go to any doctor, healthcare professional, or facility that is on its panel without a referral from a primary care doctor. However, care outside of Treble's network is not reimbursed unless the provider obtains advance approval from the HMO.

Both HMOs use delegation to transfer certain functions to other organizations. Following the guidelines established by the NCQA, Elm delegated its credentialing activities to the Newnan Group, and the agreement between Elm and Newnan lists the responsibilities of both parties under the agreement. Treble delegated utilization management (UM) to an IPA. The IPA then transferred the authority for case management to the Quest Group, an organization that specializes in case management.

Both HMOs also offer pharmacy benefits. Elm calculates its drug costs according to a pricing system that requires establishing a purchasing profile for each pharmacy and basing reimbursement on the profile. Treble and the Manor Pharmaceutical Group have an arrangement that requires the use of a typical maximum allowable cost (MAC) pricing system to calculate generic drug costs under Treble's pharmacy program. The following statements describe generic drugs prescribed for Treble plan members who are covered by Treble's pharmacy benefits:

The MAC list for Drug A specifies a cost of 12 cents per tablet, but Manor pays 14 cents per tablet for this drug.

The MAC list for Drug B specifies a cost of 7 cents per tablet, but Manor pays 5 cents per tablet for this drug.

The following statements can correctly be made about the reimbursement for Drugs A and B under the MAC pricing system:

One true statement about the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) is that:

The Medicaid program subsidizes indigent care through payments to disproportionate share hospitals (DSHs). The Preamble Hospital is a DSH. As a DSH, Preamble most likely:

The Walnut Health Plan provides a number of specialty services for its members. Walnut offers coverage of alternative healthcare, including coverage of treatment methods such as homeopathy and naturopathy. Walnut also offers home healthcare services, and it contracts with home healthcare providers on a non-risk basis to the health plan. The following statements are about the specialty services offered by Walnut. Select the answer choice containing the correct statement:

Medicaid is a joint federal and state program that provides healthcare coverage for low-income, medically needy, and disabled individuals. Under the terms of this joint sponsorship, the

Grant Pelham is covered by both a workers’ compensation program and a group health plan provided by his employer. The Shipwright Health Plan administers both programs. Mr. Grant was injured while on the job and applied for benefits.

The provider network that Shipwright uses to furnish services for its workers’ compensation program will most likely

Social health maintenance organizations (SHMOs) and Programs of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE) are federal programs designed to provide coordinated healthcare services to the elderly. Unlike PACE, SHMOs

A provider group purchased from an insurer individual stop-loss coverage for primary and specialty care services with an $8,000 attachment point and 10% coinsurance. If the group's accrued cost for the primary and specialty care treatment of one patient is $10,000, then the amount that the insurer would be responsible for reimbursing the provider group for these costs is:

In most states, workers’ compensation is first-dollar and last-dollar coverage, which means that workers’ compensation programs

Although ambulatory payment classifications (APCs) bear some resemblance to diagnosis-related groups (DRGs), there are significant differences between APCs and DRGs. One of these differences is that APCs:

One true statement about the Medicaid program in the United States is that:

The Ventnor Health Plan requires the physicians in its provider network to be board certified. Ventnor has received requests to become a part of the network from the following specialists:

Cheryl Stovall, who is currently in the process of completing a residency in her field of specialization.

Thomas Kalil, who has completed a residency in his field of specialization and has passed a qualifying examination in that field within two years of completing his residency.

Roger Todd, who has completed a residency in his field of specialization but has not passed a qualifying examination in that field.

Ventnor's requirement of board certification is met by:

Medicaid beneficiaries pose a challenge for health plans attempting to establish Medicaid provider networks. Compared to membership in commercial health plans, Medicaid enrollees typically

The following statements are about workers' compensation provider networks. Select the answer choice containing the correct statement:

One true statement about the responsibilities of providers under typical provider contracts is that most provider contracts:

The BBA of 1997 specifies the ways in which a Medicare+Choice plan can establish and use provider networks. A Medicare+Choice plan that operates as a private fee for service (PFFS) plan is allowed to

As part of the credentialing process, many health plans use the National Practitioner Data Bank (NPDB) to learn information about prospective members of a provider network. One true statement about the NPDB is that:

The following statements are about network management for behavioral healthcare (BH). Three of these statements are true and one statement is false. Select the answer choice containing the FALSE statement.

Dr. Sylvia Cimer and Dr. Andrew Donne are obstetrician/gynecologists who participate in the same provider network. Dr. Comer treats a large number of high-risk patients, whereas Dr. Donne’s patients are generally healthy and rarely present complications. As a result, Dr. Comer typically uses medical resources at a much higher rate than does Dr. Donne. In order to equitably compare Dr. Comer’s performance with Dr. Donne’s performance, the health plan modified its evaluation to account for differences in the providers’ patient populations and treatment protocols. The health plan modified Dr. Comer’s and Dr. Donne’s performance data by means of

The following statements are about managed dental care. Three of these statements are true, and one is false. Select the answer choice containing the FALSE statement.

The following statements are about the responsibilities that providers are expected to assume under most provider contracts with health plans. Select the answer choice containing the correct statement.

Federal laws—including the Ethics in Patient Referrals Act, the Health Maintenance Organization (HMO) Act of 1973, the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), and the Federal Trade Commission Act—have impacted the ways that health plans conduct business. For instance, the Mosaic Health Plan must comply with the following federal laws in order to operate:

Regulation 1: Mosaic must establish a mandated grievance resolution mechanism, including a method for members to address grievances with network providers.

Regulation 2: Mosaic must not allow its providers to refer Medicare and Medicaid patients to entities in which they have a financial or ownership interest.

From the answer choices below, select the response that correctly identifies the federal legislation on which Regulation 1 and Regulation 2 are based.

Lakesha Frazier, a member of a health plan in a rural area, had been experiencing heart palpitations and shortness of breath. Ms. Frazier’s primary care provider (PCP) referred her to a local hospital for an electrocardiogram. The results of the electrocardiogram were transmitted for diagnosis via high-speed data transmission to a heart specialist in a city 500 miles away. This information indicates that the results of Ms. Frazier’s electrocardiogram were transmitted using a communications system known as

The introductory paragraph of a provider contract is generally followed by a section called the recitals. The recitals section of the contract typically specifies the

The following paragraph contains an incomplete statement. Select the answer choice containing the term that correctly completes the statement.

One important activity within the scope of network management is ensuring the quality of the health plan’s provider networks. A primary purpose of __________________ is to review the clinical competence of a provider in order to determine whether the provider meets the health plan’s preestablished criteria for participation in the network.

During the credentialing process, a health plan verifies the accuracy of information on a prospective network provider’s application. One true statement regarding this process is that the health plan

The provider contract between the Regal Health Plan and Dr. Caroline Quill contains a type of termination clause known as termination without cause. One true statement about this clause is that it

For this question, if answer choices (A) through C) are all correct, select answer choice (D). Otherwise, select the one correct answer choice.

Understanding the level of health plan penetration in a particular market can help a health plan determine which products are most appropriate for that market. Indicators of a mature health plan market include

With respect to hiring practices, one step that a health plan most likely can take to avoid violating the terms of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is to

The Medea Clinic is a network provider for Delphic Healthcare. Delphic transferred the contract it held with Medea to the Elixir HMO, an entity that was not party to the original contract. The process by which Delphic transferred the contract it held with Medea to Elixir is known as

An health plan enters into a professional services capitation arrangement whenever the health plan

Most health plan contracts provide an outline of the criteria that a healthcare service must meet in order to be considered “medically necessary.” Typically, in order for a healthcare service to be considered medically necessary, the service provided by a physician or other healthcare provider to identify and treat a member’s illness or injury must be

Jay Mercer is covered under his health plan’s vision care plan, which includes coverage for clinical eye care but not for routine eye care. Recently, Mr. Mercer had a general eye examination and got a prescription for corrective lenses. Mr. Mercer’s vision care plan will cover.

Decide whether the following statement is true or false:

The organizational structure of a health plan’s network management function often depends on the size and geographic scope of the health plan. With respect to the size of a health plan, it is correct to say that smaller health plans typically have less integration and more specialization of roles than do larger health plans.

The Athena Medical Group has purchased from the Corinthian Insurance Company individual stop-loss insurance coverage for primary and specialty care services with a $5,000 attachment point and 10 percent coinsurance. One of Athena’s patients accrued $8,000 of medical costs for primary and specialty care treatment. In this situation, Athena will be responsible for paying an amount equal to

One type of fee schedule payment system assigns a weighted unit value for each medical procedure or service based on the cost and intensity of that service. Under this system, the unit values for procedural services are generally higher than the unit values for cognitive services. This system is known as a

Open panel health plans can contract with individual providers or with various provider groups when developing their networks. The following statements are about factors that an open panel health plan might consider in contracting with different types of provider organizations. Select the answer choice that contains the correct statement.

Before incurring the expense of assembling a new PPO network, the Protect Health Plan conducted a cost analysis in order to determine the cost-effectiveness of renting an existing PPO network instead. In calculating the overall cost of renting the network, Protect assumed a premium of $2.52 per member per month (PMPM) and estimated the total number of members to be 9,000. This information indicates that Protect would calculate its annual network rental cost to be

In the paragraph below, two statements each contain a pair of terms enclosed in parentheses. Determine which term correctly completes each statement. Then select the answer choice that contains the two terms you have chosen.

A formulary lists the drugs and treatment protocols that are considered to be the preferred therapy for a given managed population. The Fairfax Health Plan uses the type of formulary which covers drugs that are on its preferred list as well as drugs that are not on its preferred list. This information indicates that Fairfax uses the (closed / open) formulary method. In using the formulary approach to pharmacy benefits management, Fairfax most likely experiences (higher / lower) costs for its members’ prescription drugs than it would if it did not use a formulary.

The Gladspell HMO has contracted with the Ellysium Hospital to provide subacute care to its plan members. Gladspell pays Ellysium by using a per diem reimbursement method.

If the Ellysium subacute care unit is typical of most hospital-based subacute skilled nursing units, then this unit could be used for patients who no longer need to be in the hospital’s acute care unit but who still require

From the following answer choices, choose the type of clause or provision described in this situation.

The Idlewilde Health Plan includes in its provider contracts a clause or provision that allows the terms of the contract to renew unchanged each year.

The Holiday Health Plan is preparing to enter a new market. In order to determine the optimal size of its provider panel in the new market, Holiday is conducting a competitive analysis of provider networks of the market’s existing health plans. Consider whether, in conducting its competitive analysis, Holiday should seek answers to the following questions:

Question 1: What are the cost-containment strategies of the health plans with increasing market shares?

Question 2: What are the premium strategies of the health plans with large market shares?

Question 3: What are the characteristics of health plans that are losing market share?

In its competitive analysis, Holiday should most likely obtain answers to questions

Many health plans opt to carve out behavioral healthcare (BH) services. However, one argument against carving out BH services is that this action most likely can result in

The following statements are about factors that health plans should consider as they develop provider networks in rural and urban markets. Three of the statements are true, and one of the statements is false. Select the answer choice that contains the FALSE statement.

The provider contract that Dr. Huang Kwan has with the Poplar Health Plan includes a typical scope of services provision. The medical service that Dr. Kwan provided to Alice Meyer, a Poplar plan member, is included in the scope of services. The following statement(s) can correctly be made about this particular medical service:

The method that the Autumn Health Plan uses for reimbursing dermatologists in its provider network involves paying them out of a fixed pool of funds that is actuarially determined for this specialty. The amount of funds that Autumn allocates to dermatologists is based on utilization and costs of services for that discipline.

Under this reimbursement method, a dermatologist who is under contract to Autumn accumulates one point for each new referral made to the specialist by Autumn’s PCPs. If the referral is classified as complicated, then the dermatologist receives 1.5 points. The value of Autumn’s dermatology services fund for the first quarter was $15,000. During the quarter, Autumn’s PCPs made 90 referrals, and 20 of these referrals were classified as complicated.

Autumn’s method of reimbursing specialty providers can best be described as a

Some states have enacted any willing provider laws. From the perspective of the health plan industry, one drawback of any willing provider laws is that they often result in a reduction of a plan’s

Dr. Eve Barlow is a specialist in the Amity Health Plan’s provider network. Dr. Barlow’s provider contract with Amity contains a typical most-favored-nation arrangement. The purpose of this arrangement is to

The Octagon Health Plan includes a typical indemnification clause in its provider contracts. The purpose of this clause is to require Octagon’s network providers to